JPH11656A - Water purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect replacement timing of a filter cartridge even if a different kind of filter cartridge is used as a replacement in a water purifier. SOLUTION: In a water purifier having a filter cartridge, an integrated flow calculating means 38 for calculating integrated flow of water which has flowed through the filter cartridge and a comparing means 39 for comparing the integrated flow of water calculated by the integrated flow calculating means 38 with a reference life arrival integrated flow, a life arrival integrated flow identifying part 25 provided on the filter cartridge for identifying a life arrival integrated flow of the filter cartridge and a reference life arrival integrated flow setting part 33 for supplying data from the life arrival integrated flow identifying means 25 to a comparing means 39 as a reference life arrival integrated flow are provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water purifier having a function of detecting the life of a filtration cartridge for water purification.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, tap water to be drunk as drinking water contains various odors such as bacteria and chalky odor. In order to make this tap water safer and more delicious, it is widely used to purify water. Vessel is used. This type of water purifier is classified into a stationary type, a faucet direct connection type, an undersink type, etc., depending on the installation mode.Many of them are obtained by filtering raw water flowing out of the faucet through a filter medium provided in the water purifier. Later, it has a structure to discharge as purified water.

Conventionally, this type of filter medium has a function of removing water odor, musty odor, trihalomethane and the like with water using an adsorbent such as activated carbon, and removing bacteria and turbidity components with a porous hollow fiber membrane. Although these are known, they are detachably attached to the water purifier main body as a filtration cartridge so that they can be replaced when their life has expired due to long-term use.

Activated carbon and hollow fiber membranes in the filtration cartridge purify tap water by incorporating impurities in tap water into their microstructures. Therefore, the filter cartridge cannot take in a larger amount of impurities by taking in a certain amount of impurities, and reaches its life.

[0005] The period from the replacement of this filter cartridge to the end of its life differs depending on the structure and operating environment of each water purifier, and it is difficult to predict in advance the replacement time of a new filter cartridge. Therefore,
Conventionally, a water purifier is provided with a detecting means for detecting an integrated flow rate of filtered water, and when the detected amount reaches a predetermined amount, the water purifier notifies a water purifier user that a filter cartridge replacement time has come. The method is widely used.

[0006]

However, the conventional water purifier described above has the following problems. Since the detection means only supports one kind of preset filtration cartridge, when the usage amount of tap water changes due to an extension or renovation of a house, etc., replace the filtration cartridge with a filtration cartridge according to the usage amount. Even so, the existing water purifier cannot be used for a new filtration cartridge, and in order to know the life of the filtration cartridge in advance, it is necessary to purchase a new water purifier capable of detecting the life of the filtration cartridge.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and even when replacing with a different type of filtration cartridge, the replacement time of the filtration cartridge can be detected without purchasing a new water purifier. The purpose is to provide a water purifier that can.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following constitution. The water purifier according to claim 1 is detachably attached to the water purifier body,
A filtration cartridge for filtering the raw water introduced therein,
Integrated flow rate calculating means for calculating the integrated flow rate of water flowing through the filtration cartridge after the start of use of the filtration cartridge; integrated flow rate calculated by the integrated flow rate calculation means; A water purifier provided with a comparison means for comparing the flow rate of the filter cartridge, and a lifetime reaching cumulative flow rate discriminating section which is capable of identifying the cumulative lifetime flow rate of the filtering cartridge, and A life-time-accumulated flow rate setting unit for identifying the life-time-accumulated flow rate of the filtration cartridge and supplying the data as the reference life-time-acquired accumulated flow rate to the comparing means.

Therefore, according to the water purifier of the present invention, when the filtration cartridge is replaced, the life-accumulated cumulative flow setting unit identifies the life-accumulated accumulated flow identification unit of the filter cartridge and identifies the life-accumulated accumulation of the filtration cartridge. In addition to setting the flow rate, the data can be supplied to the comparison means as the integrated flow rate for reaching the reference life. Then, the comparison unit can compare the reference life arrival integrated flow rate supplied from the life end integrated flow rate setting unit with the integrated flow rate calculated by the integrated flow rate calculation unit.

A water purifier according to a second aspect of the present invention is the water purifier according to the first aspect, further comprising an informing means for informing a comparison result by the comparing means.

Therefore, according to the water purifier of the present invention, the notifying means sets the integrated flow rate at the reference life of the filtration cartridge set by the service life attained integrated flow rate setting unit and the integrated flow rate calculated by the integrated flow rate calculating means. The result of the comparison by the comparing means can be reported.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a water purifier according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. here,
For example, description will be made using an example of a faucet direct connection type water purifier. FIG.
In FIG. 3 and FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a water purifier. The water purifier 1 includes a water purifier main body 3 fixed to the faucet 2, and a filtration cartridge 4 detachably attached to the water purifier main body 3.

The water purifier main body 3 has a flow path 5 into which raw water flows from the faucet 2, a flow path 6 for guiding the flow of the raw water to the filtration cartridge 4, and a discharge port for directly projecting and discharging the flowed raw water. A first raw water inflow path 8 leading to the outlet 7 and a second raw water inflow path (not shown) leading to the discharge port 9 for discharging raw water in a shower form are formed. A switching valve 10 is provided at a branch portion between the one raw water inflow path 8 and the second raw water inflow path, for switching the raw water that has flowed in to the respective inflow paths to flow into the respective inflow paths. Is provided with a switching lever 19 for rotating the switching valve 10.

The filter cartridge 4 has a cartridge body 13 and a filter 15 provided in the cartridge body 13 with a gap 14 therebetween. The filter body 15 filters raw water flowing from the raw water inlet 16 and reaching the filtration inlet 17 through the gap 14.
Activated carbon 11 and hollow fiber membrane 12 are housed inside. The activated carbon 11 removes the odor of mustard, musty, trihalomethane and the like in the raw water, and the hollow fiber membrane 12 removes bacteria, turbidity components and the like in the raw water.

Downstream of the filtration unit 15, a water collection unit 18 for collecting purified water filtered by the filtration unit 15 is formed. One end of the water collection unit 18 is open to the water collection unit 18. A discharge path 21 is formed, the other end of which is a discharge port 20 that opens to the outside.

As shown in FIG. 4, a drain 22 is provided at the upper end of the gap 14. The water draining part 22 has a function of draining water from the filtration cartridge 4 after filtration, and has an air inlet 23 that opens to the outside, and a rubber valve 24 that is provided at an intermediate part of the air inlet 23. And a configuration including:

On the other hand, the filter cartridge 4 has a magnetic material 2 facing the water purifier main body 3 on the joint surface with the water purifier main body 3.
5 (lifetime reaching integrated flow rate discriminating unit) is provided in the water purifier main body 3 in the middle of the water purifying unit inflow path 6 and the magnetic material 25.
, A filter medium life measuring instrument 26 is provided. The magnetic body 25 is a filter cartridge 4 provided with the magnetic body 25.
This is provided as an identification means that can identify the integrated flow rate at the end of life.

As shown in FIG. 1, a filter medium life measuring instrument 26
Is configured to include a life detecting circuit 28, an identification circuit 29 (lifetime reaching integrated flow rate setting unit), a display circuit 30 (notifying means), and a power supply circuit 31 for supplying power to these circuits. The identification circuit 29 identifies the magnetic body 25 and sets the flow rate at which the life of the filtration cartridge 4 is reached.
It comprises a discriminating operation circuit 32 and a filter medium life setting circuit 33.

The discrimination arithmetic circuit 32 processes a signal from the magnetic body 25 when the filtration cartridge 4 is attached to the water purifier main body 3, and has a constant current circuit 34 between the filter cartridge 4 and the power supply circuit 31. A magneto-resistive element 35 that reads information from the magnetic body 25 as a magnetic resistance, an amplifier circuit 36 that amplifies an output from the magneto-resistive element 35, and outputs the output amplified by the amplifier circuit 36 as a reference voltage. The filter medium comparison circuit 37 for comparison is provided. The filter medium life setting circuit 33 discriminates whether the filtration cartridge 4 has a small capacity or a large capacity based on the result of the processing performed by the discrimination arithmetic circuit 32, and also calculates the life end integrated flow rate of the filter cartridge 4 at that time to the reference life end accumulation. It is set as a flow rate.

The life detecting circuit 28 includes an integrated flow rate calculating circuit 3
8 (integrated flow rate calculation means) and a life comparison circuit 39 (comparison means). The integrated flow rate calculating circuit 38 calculates an integrated flow rate of water flowing through the filtration cartridge 4 after the filtration cartridge 4 is attached to the water purifier main body 3. And an integrated flow rate storage circuit 41.

The flow rate measuring means 27 measures the flow rate of the raw water flowing toward the filtration cartridge 4 via the water purification section inflow path 6, and the measured signal is sent to the measurement arithmetic circuit 40. The measurement arithmetic circuit 40 calculates the flow rate of the raw water that has passed through the water purification section inflow path 6 by performing arithmetic processing on the signal sent from the flow rate measurement means 27. The calculated flow rate value is sent to the integrated flow rate storage circuit 41. Sent.

The integrated flow rate storage circuit 41 integrates the flow rate values calculated by the measurement arithmetic circuit 40 and stores the integrated flow rate value. The integrated flow rate storage circuit 41
Is initialized when the filter cartridge 4 is replaced and the life end integrated flow rate of the filter cartridge 4 is set in the filter medium life setting circuit 33.

The life comparison circuit 39 is an integrated flow rate calculation circuit 3
8 is compared with the integrated flow rate attained by the filter cartridge life setting circuit 33, which is set by the filter medium life setting circuit 33 and reaches the reference life of the filtration cartridge 4 supplied from the filter medium life setting circuit 33. When the flow rate has reached the reference life arrival integrated flow rate, the signal is sent to the display circuit 30. The display circuit 30 indicates to the user by an LED or the like based on the signal from the life comparison circuit 39 when the accumulated flow reaches the reference life reaching accumulated flow.

The operation of the water purifier having the above configuration will be described. First, a small-capacity filtration cartridge 4 is attached to the water purifier body 3.
Install. As a result, the discriminating circuit 29 is operated, and the magnetoresistive element 35 reads the magnetic resistance of the magnetic body 25 provided on the filtration cartridge 4 and outputs it to the amplifier circuit 36 via the constant current circuit 34. The output signal amplified by the amplifier circuit 36 is sent to a filter medium comparing circuit 37, where it is compared with a reference voltage, and then sent to a filter medium life setting circuit 33 as a comparison result.

The filter medium life setting circuit 33 includes a filter medium comparison circuit 3
Based on the comparison result sent from 7, the filter cartridge 4 is identified as a small-capacity one, and the stored life-end cumulative flow rate for the small-volume stored in advance is set as the reference-life-time cumulative flow rate of the mounted filter cartridge 4. At the same time, the integrated flow rate value stored in the integrated flow rate storage circuit 41 of the life detecting circuit 28 is initialized.

Next, in order to use the purified water, the switching lever 19 is operated to rotate the switching valve 10 to a position where the raw water from the faucet 2 flows into the purified water inlet passage 6. When the faucet 2 is opened, the raw water flowing from the faucet 2 through the flow path 5 flows into the gap 14 in the filtration cartridge 4 from the raw water inlet 16 through the water purification section inflow path 6 by the switching valve 10.

The raw water reaching the filtration inlet 17 via the gap 14 is introduced into the filter body 15 from there, and is filtered by the activated carbon 11 and the hollow fiber membrane 12 therein to become purified water.
Thereafter, the purified water is discharged from the water collecting section 18 through the discharge path 21 as the purified water from the discharge port 20.

At this time, the rubber valve 24 of the water draining section 22 is pressed to the outside (left side in FIG. 4) of the air inlet 23 by the pressure of the raw water that has entered the air inlet 23 from the gap 14, and To prevent raw water from leaking to the outside. When the user interrupts the use of purified water, the supply of raw water to the gap 14 is stopped.
4 is released. As a result, since air is introduced from the air inlet 23, the raw water and purified water remaining in the filter body 15 are discharged to the outside from the discharge port 20, and the inside of the filter body 15 can be kept sanitary.

On the other hand, when the raw water is passing through the inflow path 6 of the water purification section, the life detecting circuit 28 operates. That is, the flow rate measuring means 27 measures the flow rate of the raw water flowing toward the filtration cartridge 4 via the water purification section inflow path 6, and sends the measured signal to the measurement arithmetic circuit 40. The measurement arithmetic circuit 40 performs arithmetic processing on this signal to calculate the flow rate of the raw water that has passed through the water purification section inflow path 6, and sends the calculated flow rate value to the integrated flow rate storage circuit 41.

The integrated flow rate storage circuit 41 newly stores a result obtained by integrating the already stored integrated flow rate value and the flow rate value sent from the measurement arithmetic circuit 40 as an integrated flow rate value. Then, the life comparison circuit 39 compares the accumulated flow value stored in the accumulated flow storage circuit 41 with the accumulated flow reaching the reference life set in the filter medium life setting circuit 33, and determines the accumulated flow value as the reference life. When the reached integrated flow rate has been reached, a signal is sent to the display circuit 30. The display circuit 30
Based on the signal from the life comparison circuit 39, the user is notified by an LED display that the time to replace the filtration cartridge 4 has come.

On the other hand, when the raw water is used without using the purified water, the raw water flowing from the faucet 2 through the flow path 5 by operating the switching lever 19 and rotating the switching valve 10 is the first raw water. And the raw water is discharged from the discharge port 7 or the discharge port 9 as raw water. At this time, since raw water is not supplied to the water purification section inflow passage 6, the integrated flow rate calculating circuit 38 does not operate, and therefore, the integrated flow rate storage circuit 41 keeps retaining the previous integrated flow rate value.

According to the water purifier of this embodiment, even if the filter cartridge 4 is replaced with a different type of filter cartridge, the identification circuit 29 can automatically set the accumulated flow rate at the end of its life. Further, the display circuit 30 allows the user to know when the filter cartridge 4 needs to be replaced.

The specific configuration is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but is included in the present invention even if there is a change in design within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the switching valve and the raw water introduction hole are configured to be directly connected. However, raw water may be taken out from the switching valve with a hose or the like and connected to a filtration cartridge disposed at another location. .

In addition, the amount of water that has reached the end of the life of the filtration cartridge is identified using a magnetoresistive element. However, the type of the filtration cartridge is more finely identified using a Hall element utilizing the Hall effect or a detection element similar to a Hall IC. You may be able to. The filtering cartridge also has a configuration in which the flow amount at the end of its life is not a magnetic substance, but, for example, a projection is provided in the filtration cartridge in accordance with the flow amount at the end of the life, and the information indicated by the projection is read in the identification arithmetic circuit. There may be.

On the other hand, a flow rate measuring means is provided with a quantitative valve for keeping the flow rate constant in the water inlet 6 of the water purification section, and the time during which raw water passes through the quantitative valve is integrated to obtain an integrated flow value. It may be a configuration. In addition, although the configuration in which the end of the life of the filtration cartridge is reached is indicated by an LED, for example, a configuration in which the user is notified by a buzzer, a liquid crystal display, or the like instead of the LED may be employed.

[0036]

As described above, according to the water purifier according to the first aspect, the life reaching integrated flow rate discriminating part which can identify the service life reaching accumulated flow rate of the filtration cartridge and the service life reaching accumulated flow discriminating part are identified. And a life-time-accumulated flow rate setting unit that sets the reference life-time-accumulated flow rate of the filtration cartridge. With this, even when the amount of water used increases or decreases, the life-time integrated flow rate setting unit responds to the change when the life-time integrated flow rate identification unit is changed according to the filtration cartridge without purchasing a new water purifier. Thus, it is possible to set an integrated flow rate at the end of life.

According to the water purifier of the second aspect, the water purifier is provided with a notifying means for notifying the result of comparison between the accumulated flow rate at the end of the life of the filtration cartridge and the accumulated flow rate. As a result, an excellent effect that the arrival of the replacement time of the filtration cartridge can be easily known is achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the water purifier according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line B-B 'in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line A-A 'in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water purifier 3 Water purifier main body 4 Filtration cartridge 25 Magnetic substance (Lifetime integrated flow rate discrimination part) 29 Identification circuit (Lifetime integrated flow rate setting part) 30 Display circuit (Notification means) 38 Integrated flow rate calculation circuit (Integrated flow rate calculation means) 39 Life comparison circuit (comparison means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A water purifier is detachably attached to a water purifier main body.
A filter cartridge for filtering the raw water introduced therein; an integrated flow rate calculating means for calculating an integrated flow rate of water flowing through the filter cartridge after the use of the filter cartridge has been started; and an integrated flow rate calculating means for calculating the integrated flow rate. A water purifier provided with a comparing means for comparing the integrated flow rate with a reference life reaching integrated flow rate of the filtration cartridge, wherein the life reaching integrated flow rate provided in the filtration cartridge and enabling the life end integrated flow rate of the filtration cartridge to be identified. An identification unit; and a lifetime reaching cumulative flow setting unit that identifies the cumulative lifetime flow of the filtration cartridge from the lifetime reaching cumulative flow identifying unit and supplies the data as the reference lifetime reaching cumulative flow to the comparing unit. A water purifier characterized by the following. 2. The water purifier according to claim 1, further comprising an informing means for informing a result of the comparison by said comparing means.